The invention disclosed and claimed herein relates generally to a closure means for footwear and more specifically to a new and improved closure assembly for ski boots.
Conventionally, in ski boots and particularly plastic ski boots there is an elongated opening along the front, side, or back of the boot to facilitate entry into the boot of the skier's foot. One or more buckles are arranged along the length of one section of the boot shell located adjacent one side of the elongated opening and, on the section located adjacent the other side of the elongated opening, opposite each buckle, is a retainer pad which is adapted to receive a cable member. One portion of the cable member is attached or disposed within the pad while another portion of the cable member is engageable and disengageable with the buckle to lock and unlock the closure system. One such closure system is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,083,130.
While such closure systems have served to adequately secure the ski boot to a wearer's foot, several disadvantages have been found to exist. In some instances it has been found that it is necessary to exert a large force to close the buckle and in some applications, the person undertaking the boot closure assembly operation experiences difficulties in generating the force required to close a buckle member.
Further, it has been found that buckle arrangements presently available with ski boots do not always provide the desired degree of tightness desired by the person wearing the boot. More specifically, it has been found that when a boot wearer adjusts the closure system to provide the desired tightness of the boot about the wearer's foot, the buckle member is initially moved to the desired position which, in turn, pulls on the cable member drawing together the first and second boot sections adjacent the elongated opening. Subsequently, the buckle member is further moved to its closed, locked position which tightens and locks the boot about the foot of the wearer. Unfortunately, when the buckle is moved from its initial position to a locked position, it has been found that, in some instances, the wearer has to make additional adjustments to achieve the desired fit of the boot about the wearer's foot.
Additionally, buckle assemblies presently available comprise a plurality of parts. Each of the parts, such as the buckle member, must be assembled to the boot shell in a separate assembly operation. The utilization of a plurality of parts for the buckle closure system plus the operations required to assemble the closure assembly to the boot serve to increase the cost of manufacture of the boot.
What is desired is a closure assembly for footwear and particularly for use with ski boots which can be easily operated by a boot wearer to provide the required or desired fit of the boot about the foot of the wearer. One should also be able to lock or unlock the closure assembly without the need of excessive force. Further, it is desired that the closure assembly comprise a minimum of parts and assembly operations to reduce the time and expense associated with manufacturing the boot.